Illegal Alien Shot His Wife On Christmas Day

BRONX, NY – Two Bronx children were awakened Christmas morning by a gunshot that left their mom bleeding by the tree in their living room — where cops said their dad opened fire in a rage because she was planning to leave him.

The kids were asleep in their beds upstairs when the holiday horror unfolded shortly before 10 a.m. Friday, as Rafael Herrera, 37, allegedly shot his wife of 11 years.

The victim — identified by relatives as Yadira Perea Saavedra, 27 — was hit by a single bullet that went in and out an arm before lodging in her neck, cops said.

She was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition and still undergoing emergency surgery Friday ­evening.

Meanwhile, a manhunt was under way for Herrera, who cops said hopped in a car and drove off after the attack.

He was last seen wearing a blue sweat shirt and jeans, and was ­believed to be armed.

Saavedra’s kin said the Yuletide violence followed her recent decision to end her troubled marriage.

“A couple of weeks ago she said she wanted a divorce. He said OK. I don’t understand what happened. He changed,” said her brother, Sergio Saavedra, 36.